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Saudi Oil Company Relocates Corals From Path of Pipeline

Maurice Picow
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5
Saudi Oil Company Relocates Corals From Path of Pipeline

A coral formationA coral reef facing certain destruction was moved from harm’s way. Will it survive?

We care about corals, an indicator species to global warming, and an integral part of the marine life ecosystem. That’s why all the construction development in the Gulf (with or without a debt hold) scares us.

Some hopeful news: a group of coral, located near the Persian Gulf off-shore Safaniyah oil field, was in danger of being destroyed by an oil pipeline being laid in the area where they were located.

But the oil company relocated them.

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From Bombing Center to Strawberry Capital

The Media Line
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From Bombing Center to Strawberry Capital

strawberry-west-bankPlanting berries as a means for financial independence in the West Bank.

This story has been reported by the Mideast News Source, the Media Line: There was a time when Kalkilya was the focus of bomb making and terrorism but a new program is aiming to turn this Palestinian city into the strawberry capital of the West Bank.

The first crop of the ruby red fruit in this pilot program is halfway to harvest. The Palestinians hope to be able to cash in on the lucrative Christmas markets in Europe and possibly sell strawberries to a major international ice cream producer.

“I grow strawberries here, and this is where it starts,” said Ahmed Zed, 31, a Palestinian carrot farmer who decided to take up the risky endeavor and grow strawberries.

“Inshallah (God willing) we’ll get the support we need and we’ll become millionaires,” he told The Media Line during a visit to his fields, adjacent to the security barrier Israel set up five years ago.

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Escaping Middle East Winter Blues for an Eco-Tour in Thailand

Karin Kloosterman
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Abu Dhabi's Central Bank To Calm Dubai Real Estate Debt Crisis

Maurice Picow
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16
Abu Dhabi's Central Bank To Calm Dubai Real Estate Debt Crisis

The "wrong way" in dubai?Will The World be saved? UAE attempts to rescue collapsed real estate market in Dubai.

The massive world-shaped islands off the coast of Dubai have been an environmentalist’s nightmare. With little regard to marine ecosystems, and the future impact of these buildings, Dubai ‘s building of The World has been brought to a halt due to billions of dollars worth of debt, much of which is held in UK banks, we reported last week.

But Dubai’s real estate debt crisis may not be as serious as people think, according to comments made over the weekend by CNN’s Jim Boutin and Financial Times correspondent Simon Kerr.

Speaking on a CNN financial new program, dealing with the effects of the so-called “Dubai Domino Effect” Kerr said that Dubai is “set to start a press campaign, headed by senior members of the supreme fiscal committee and department of finance aimed to reschedule the $25 billion in bad debts around Nakheel and Istithmar, developers of the Dubai World island project.”

The plan involves issuing special bonds, known as Sukuk or Islamic bonds, in order to defer the debt on assets that have a current estimated market value of more than $75 billion over the next few years.

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Gas Leak? Think Safety

Jack Reichert
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Gas Leak? Think Safety

gas leaks safetyMost of us are familiar with the movie Fight Club, where the protagonist’s house is blown up as a result of a gas leak. Gas leaks are serious, if you smell a leak you should stop what you are doing immediately and call a technician.

However, not all leaks are noticeable. You may have a small leak where the gas dissipates before you can smell it. The good news is that most gas suppliers offer a free yearly check. So call up your gas provider and ask them to send someone your way.

Also, make sure that the areas in your home that use gas – kitchen, heaters – are well ventilated. While natural gas is relatively clean, one byproduct is carbon monoxide. If you do not ventilate properly, your oxygen supply will be depleted.

Leading TransBioDiesel as a Catalyst for Change in the Middle East

Karin Kloosterman
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4
Leading TransBioDiesel as a Catalyst for Change in the Middle East

sobhi_basheer_transbiodiesel_storyIsraeli-Arab Dr. Sobhi Basheer of TransBioDiesel: using his experience with enzymes to replace conventional polluting practices.

Many people today know that science can make biofuel from organic waste. But what a large percentage of people don’t realize is that the biofuel process actually creates pollution and waste. Looking to minimize the damage, and set an example for his community in Israel, is Dr. Sobhi Bashee, founder of TransBioDiesel based in Shfar’am, Israel.

Bashee has developed a catalyst-based solution that helps create usable fuel from organic materials, while reducing the toxic wastewater produced in the process. The biocatalysts he develops are environmentally benign, he tells ISRAEL21c, and can lower the total production costs of biodiesel fuels.

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Capstone and Israel's HelioFocus Get Grants To Fire Up Solar Powered Micro-Turbines

Maurice Picow
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11
Capstone and Israel's HelioFocus Get Grants To Fire Up Solar Powered Micro-Turbines

heliofocus solar energyCaptsone’s microturbine could be fired up by solar power in new project with Heliofocus.

California based Capstone Turbine Corporation (NASDAQ:CPST) and Israel based HelioFocus Ltd,  have entered into an agreement to develop a micro-turbine to produce power from concentrated solar energy.  The project is being funded in part with a $800,000 grant from the B.I.R.D Foundation, as well as a larger grant from the US Department of Energy (DOE).

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Rima Malallah Brings Handmade Art and Love on a Bike to Amman

Karen Chernick
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Rima Malallah Brings Handmade Art and Love on a Bike to Amman

malallah radisson mural ammanRima Malallah, a young woman living and creating in Amman, Jordan, is bringing her colorful handmade art to the Ammanian masses.  Different from other galleries in Amman, Malallah offers a wide variety of products (including original paintings, prints, postcards, journals, cards, jewelry, handpainted ties, hand-knit scarves, bottle vases, key chains and coasters) and encourages interaction with her clients.  Customers can walk in and commission a piece from her directly.

What this means, in “green” terminology, is that Jordanians have a colorful, fun place to buy local, handmade products instead of imported, machine-made products that take their toll on the environment.

Malallah’s store is called Love on a Bike and opened in July 2007.  It is located in the Jabal Amman neighborhood and, appropriately, right off of Rainbow Street.  The bright colors and reasonable prices make it a luring attraction.

Encouraging people to develop a love for making handcrafted arts themselves, Malallah hosts a knitting circle at her shop every Saturday.

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Israeli Public Supports Strong Action On Climate Change

Karin Kloosterman
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Israeli Public Supports Strong Action On Climate Change

israelis-tel-aviv-climate-changeIn advance of Copenhagen, a new survey shows that Israelis seek action against climate change.

The Israeli public is a few steps ahead of its government in wanting to see strong action on climate change, according to a new poll conducted by Ben Gurion University.

The survey was done ahead of the international Climate Summit which will convene in Copenhagen on December 7th, where a new international framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is hoped to be created.

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Agrotop's Green Henhouse Hotel For Humane Poultry That Matches EU Standards

Green Prophet
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Agrotop's Green Henhouse Hotel For Humane Poultry That Matches EU Standards

agrotop-henhouse-chicken-hotelChickens won’t cluck at this: Aside from making life more comfortable for the hens, Agrotop’s henhouse incorporates wind and solar power, recycles wastewater, and even processes chicken waste into biofuel.

Chicken is a consumer favorite all over the world, but many people aren’t happy with the way chicken arrives at their table – both from a humanitarian and an environmental point of view. Most of the poultry you buy in the market is raised in factory farms, where the birds contend with overcrowding, disease and worse.

To correct this foul situation, beginning in 2012 the European Union (EU) will require farms to provide more space and more fresh air – and even a mattress or a pillow – for each bird. To comply with these regulations, farmers in the EU and in countries like Israel that sell poultry products in Europe are going to have to upgrade their henhouses. Israel’s Agrotop is poised to help, with its award-winning “henhouse of the future.”

For Agrotop, “award-winning” isn’t just corporate marketing fluff. The company really did win an award from the Ministry of Agriculture this year for its new industrial chicken coop design, which not only meets the new EU standards, but is also completely “green,” says Gaby Pelleg, one of Agrotop’s partners and directors.

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Masdar and Partners To Undergo Solar PV Feasibility Study in Abu Dhabi's Masdar City

Maurice Picow
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13
Masdar and Partners To Undergo Solar PV Feasibility Study in Abu Dhabi's Masdar City

masdar-city-photoMasdar starts testing feasibility of solar energy at eco city. Will Abu Dhabi’s dust let the sunshine in?

Abu Dhabi’s Future Energy  Company, Masdar,  and Spain’s Instituto De Sistemas Fotovoltaicos de Concentracion S.A. (ISFOC) have signed an agreement to conduct a test and study concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) technologies in the Emirate’s unique subtropical climate. Although blessed with ample sunshine for most days of the year is occasionally bothered with haze and dust conditions as well which could interfere with energy output.

Masdar, a subsidiary of  Mubadala Development Company, Abu Dhabi’s leading investment and development company, will conduct the study with  ISFOC to determine what effect the area’s climatic conditions will have on Masdar’s plans to install large scale solar energy plants in their carbon neutral Masdar City development project, that has been featured in Green Prophet a number of times.

Regarding ISFOC’s participation in this project, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Masdar’s CEO, was quoted in Abu Dhabi’s Al Bawaba news article saying: “Spain is a global leader in the renewable energy sphere and we are very about excited about strengthening the technical cooperation between our two countries and carrying out these tests with ISFOC”.

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Swine Flu Finds Hajj 2009

Maurice Picow
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10
Swine Flu Finds Hajj 2009

makkah-hajj-islam-swine-fluMuslims succumb to swine flu during annual Hajj pilgrimage.

One of the biggest concerns to Saudi Arabian health authorities has unfortunately become a reality at this year’s Hajj pilgrimage, now underway in Islam’s holiest cities of Mecca and Medina.

This year’s pilgrimage, which began on Saturday, November 21, has already claimed at least four lives to the H1N1 influenza (swine flu) virus, according to an article published in Al Jazeera.

The article , which came out last Saturday, at the beginning of week long event, noted that despite efforts being made by 15,000 Health Ministry workers to screen out persons who might be infected by the H1N1 virus, 4 people have already succumbed to the disease and that another 4 were in hospital in “critical condition.”

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Corals Feeding On Jellyfish: A Strategy To Deal With Climate Change?

Maurice Picow
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7
Corals Feeding On Jellyfish: A Strategy To Deal With Climate Change?

"help;! I'm being eaten by an.... arrrrgh!"Corals caught munching on jellyfish. Are they adapting to climate change?

It would seem that jellyfish, often referred simply to as “jellies” wouldn’t have any problem floating around near patches of coral – unless that coral just happens to be a predatory species known as mushroom coral, or fingia scruposa in Latin.

This unusual phenomenon was seen last March in the coral reefs near the southern Israeli city of Eilat, on the Gulf of Aqaba. The story was reported in a British environmental news site Earth News which is part of the BBC. It’s as though corals may be reacting to stressful conditions at sea by changing their eating habits.

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"The World" Is In Trouble As Dubai Seeks Debt Hold on Mega-Islands Construction Project

Karin Kloosterman
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6
"The World" Is In Trouble As Dubai Seeks Debt Hold on Mega-Islands Construction Project

the-world-islands-dubai-photo-aerialDubai’s been building without limits and now seeks debt hold on “The World” artificial islands project.

When the idea was conceived, money seemed limitless, their goals too: Real Estate developers Nakheel of the artificial island “World” project in Dubai now say they will ask creditors to accept a moratorium on debt worth billions of dollars, according to Al Jazeera.

The World is a man-made archipelago of 300 islands constructed in the rough shape of a map of the landmasses of the Earth, located 4 kilometres off the coast of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Its islands are composed mainly of sand dredged from Dubai’s shallow coastal waters, and is one of several artificial island developments in Dubai. The project was originally conceived by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai. The project has since been suspended due to a cash-flow problem.

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California's PG&E Looks to Invest up to $1.5 Billion in BrightSource and Alt Energy Plants

Maurice Picow
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13
California's PG&E Looks to Invest up to $1.5 Billion in BrightSource and Alt Energy Plants

A Bright Source solar energy plantPG&E says it will more than a billion in alternative energy projects.

California’s mega utility company, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) is keen on using solar and wind energy to provide electric power for America’s most populous state.

Despite a number of objections by both environmentalists (who say wind farms are dangerous to birds and are aesthetically ugly; there isn’t enough water available for use in the solar energy plant turbines), California’s largest utility company is planning on investing up to $1.5 billion on developing solar and wind energy farms – and some of that money will be going to Middle East companies.

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Most of the world’s marine protected areas are polluted by sewage

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Research from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the University of Queensland, published in Ocean & Coastal Management, found that nearly three out of four marine protected areas (MPAs) worldwide are exposed to sewage pollution.

Adamah in Los Angeles wants to make Jewish climate action local, practical and spiritual

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At a time when climate anxiety can feel abstract and overwhelming, and being Jewish something people may need to hide in big cities, Adamah Los Angeles is trying something different: turning Jewish values into local climate action with dirt-under-the-fingernails practicality.

How to safely remove astroturf and plastics from your backyard

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For families with kids, pets, or anyone trying to build a cleaner outdoor space, removing old astroturf is one of the simplest ways to reduce unnecessary exposure to plastics and heat. Some past studies suggest that if kids have played on these surfaces you need to wash their hands. 

Is artificial turf bad for your health?

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Artificial turf, the green plastic stuff that is supposed to look like grass, was sold to many home-owners as a clever compromise: a green-looking surface that makes you feel homey, but which needs no mowing. It survives heavy use, and in dry places like Middle East deserts, and in California or Texas, it can replace thirsty lawns. But it is toxic.

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